Government Forces

Syrian Armed Forces

Before the rebellion and warbegan, Syrian Armed Forces was guestimated at 325,000 regulartroops. 220,000 of them were army troops and the rest was part of the navy and air forces. In addition there were nearly 280,000–300,000 reservists.

Since the first protest in June 2011 many defections of government fightershave been reported. By July 2012, the Syrian Observatory for HumanRights (SOHR) and turkish sources estimated that thousands of soldiers had defected.

National Defense Forces

The Syrian NDF was formed out of pro-government militias. They get their salaries and their militarygearfrom the government and numberalmost 100,000 troops. The units of the NDF act in an infantry role, directly battling rebels forces on the ground and leading counter-insurgency operations. This operations are coordinated with the syrian arab army who provides them with logistical and artillery support.

Hezbollah

Hezbollah involvement in the Syrian CivilWar has been significant almostsince the start of armed rebellion in late 2011. The involvement turned into activeaid and soldier stationing since 2012. By 2014, Hezbollah involvement was stable and firm in support of the Assad governmentforcesin Syria. Hezbollah deployed thousands of fighters in Syria and by 2015 lost nearly 2000 fighters. 5000 soldiers were injured in its support to the Syrian government side.